RetroArch is described as 'A portable, fast, and lightweight emulator frontend supporting classic and modern gaming systems with features like real-time rewinding and shader support' and is a very popular Game Emulator in the gaming software category. There are more than 100 alternatives to RetroArch for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Android and iPhone apps. The best RetroArch alternative is PlayOnLinux - PlayOnMac, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like RetroArch are DuckStation, Lemuroid, Lakka and VisualBoyAdvance.
MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. When used in conjunction with images of the original arcade game's ROM and disk data, MAME attempts to reproduce that game as faithfully as possible on a more modern general-purpose computer.
Some users think Mame is a great RetroArch alternative, some don't.
ZSNES is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System emulator. Aside from emulation accuracy, many interface features first introduced in ZSNES have been adopted by other emulators. ZSNES interface features include: Smoothing and dynamic image scaling; screenshot capture; state...
mGBA is an open source emulator of the Game Boy Advance. The goals are speed and accuracy.
mGBA is an emulator, whereas RetroArch is a front-end for multiple emulators and the games using them.
An experimental open-source Nintendo 3DS emulator/debugger written in C++. At this time, it only emulates a very small subset of 3DS hardware, and therefore is only useful for booting/debugging very simple homebrew demos. Citra is licensed under the GPLv2. Refer to the license.
Citra is an emulator, whereas RetroArch is a front-end for multiple emulators and the games using them.
Project64 is a Nintendo 64 emulator for the Windows platform. It employs a plugin system that allows 3rd party developers to implement their own software. It is an emulator, meaning that the user has the option to run ROM files that can be extracted from a Nintendo 64 game...
Project64 is an emulator, whereas RetroArch is a front-end for multiple emulators and the games using them.
Some users think Project64 is a great RetroArch alternative, some don't.
Cross-platform utility enables seamless installation and execution of Windows applications on macOS, Linux, and Chrome OS. No Windows license required—facilitates easy app management with a few clicks, eliminates the need for virtual machines and reboots, delivering efficient compatibility layer operation.
CrossOver runs desktop software. RetroArch runs retro games.
Vita3K is the world's first functional experimental open-source PlayStation Vita emulator for Windows, Linux and macOS.
An open-source Epic Games Launcher alternative and normal game launcher for macOS written in Swift. We started this project to create a GUI frontend for Legendary and to play Windows games using game porting toolkit by Apple.
ChimeraOS (formerly GamerOS) is an operating system that provides an out of the box couch gaming experience. After installation, boot directly into Steam Big Picture and start playing your favorite games.
LaunchBox was originally built as an attractive frontend to DOSBox, but has since expanded to support both modern PC games and emulated console platforms. LaunchBox aims to be the one-stop shop for gaming on your computer, for both modern and...
ePSXe (enhanced PSX emulator) is an emulator of the PlayStation video game console for x86-based PC hardware. ePSXe makes use of a plugin system to emulate GPU, SPU, and CD drive functions, similar to the model first introduced in PSEmu Pro.
ePSXe is a single emulator, whereas RetroArch is a front-end for multiple emulators and games using them !
Most users think ePSXe is a great RetroArch alternative.
Pegasus is a graphical frontend for browsing your game library (especially retro games) and launching them from one place. It's focusing on customizability, cross platform support (including embedded devices) and high performance.
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Mame is an emulator, whereas RetroArch is a front-end for multiple emulators and the games using them.